The Massachusett Now

Below are videos of current members of the Massachusett Tribe.

DISCUSSIONS FOR AND WITH MASSACHUSETTS NATIVE PEOPLES
A Reassessment for Our Times

Indian Education in the Commonwealth – Voices of the People

http://blogs.umb.edu/inenas/

Our third listening session and roundtable was held in UMASS/Amherst on November 5, 2015. The focus of the session was education and was hosted by the Certificate Program in Native American and Indigenous Studies. In addition to the presentations from Jennifer Weston, Ronda Anderson and Jonathan Hill, several audience members (both native and non-native) shared their thoughts, concerns, solutions and questions. The summary below represents some of the comments and is categorized by general headings, rights and issues.

Curriculum

History of tribes not reflected in state’s curriculum. Public schools teaching discovery of lands, manifest destiny, colonized lands, books (i.e. “the Courage of Sarah Noble”) that reference native peoples as savages, squaws and heathens. Teaching about Indigenous Peoples as if they only exist in the past. Native peoples/history and culture treated as special programs and not included in other topics such as science. Native parents feel compelled/or asked to educate their children’s teachers on history, culture

Native Students Feeling Invisible in Schools

The taking of lives has resulted in Natives being one the smallest populations in the US and on campus. They feel invisible, outnumbered, statistically insignificant, and unwanted. They are not included in most efforts or events dealing with marginalized populations on campus.

In 2015, Members of the Massachusett Tribe participated in a project called Massachusetts Native Peoples and the Social Contract: A Reassessment for Our Times. The project involved a series of statewide “Discussions For and With Massachusetts Native Peoples.” To learn more about the project, please visit this blog done by the Institute for New England Native American Studies: http://blogs.umb.edu/inenas/